A Venezuelan military operation against a camp used by Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) has killed at least 19 people in Apure State, according to human rights organisation FundaRedes and a military source cited by AFP.
The reported attack occurred early on Friday, 30 October, in a forested area near the Colombian border. The military source said Venezuelan forces deployed drones and attack helicopters and that most of those killed were Venezuelan nationals.
FundaRedes initially reported nine deaths. Its coordinator, Juan Francisco García, subsequently told AFP on Sunday, 1 November, that authorities had transported another 10 bodies to the state capital, San Fernando, the day after the operation.
The updated account appeared in AFP’s report carried by Channels Television. The organisation also supplied footage showing bodies, fallen trees and the remains of what appeared to be a camp.
Earlier reporting placed the attack in Buena Vista del Meta, within Apure’s Pedro Camejo municipality. Residents had provided names and details from documents reportedly found in the area, although the victims’ identities had not received official confirmation, according to Anadolu’s initial account.
García called on Venezuelan authorities to explain the circumstances of the operation, establish the identities of those killed through verifiable procedures and notify their relatives. He also sought information about measures to protect civilians in the surrounding communities, El Pitazo reported.
The military source, who spoke to AFP anonymously, alleged that the United States had ordered the operation and that the Central Intelligence Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation had provided assistance.
That allegation did not come with independent confirmation. AFP reported that neither the US State Department nor the Venezuelan government immediately answered its requests for comment.
The same source said Venezuelan forces would continue searching the area because they believed other rebel camps remained nearby. The account did not establish how many additional sites the military suspected or identify them.
Human rights advocate and military affairs specialist Rocío San Miguel interpreted the attack as a departure from Venezuela’s previous military approach towards Colombian armed groups operating along the frontier.
The approximately 2,200-kilometre border accommodates several armed organisations involved in drug trafficking, illegal mining and smuggling. These include the ELN and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Colombia’s government signed a peace agreement with FARC in 2016, but armed factions continued operating outside that settlement. The ELN remained among Latin America’s most powerful guerrilla organisations, according to AFP’s background account.
The reported strike also comes during a change in relations between Caracas and Washington. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Nicolás Maduro’s vice-president, has led Venezuela since US forces captured Maduro in January.
Reuters reported on 22 October that Rodríguez had worked closely with Washington and that she and US President Donald Trump had promised elections without announcing a date.
Across the border, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has pursued a tougher security campaign against the ELN and other armed groups.
In a report published on 20 October, EFE said he had ordered an expanded offensive against the ELN and FARC dissident factions following a regional meeting in Arauca, a Colombian department bordering Venezuela.
De la Espriella said his government would target the groups’ leaders and financing networks. He also demanded the release of five officials held by the ELN and ordered intensified efforts to rescue them.
Colombia has also joined more than a dozen Latin American and Caribbean countries in a US-led initiative against drug trafficking and organised crime, AFP reported.